UNC baseball fails ‘base running 101’

It was simply a wrong read.

No. 13 North Carolina (21-8) entered Wednesday’s game against UNC-Asheville (8-22) as the heavy favorite, boasting three times as many wins as the Bulldogs this season.

“I thought we were going to win for sure going into the game,” junior outfielder Tyler Ramirez said.

But Joe Tietjen shut that down.

Down one run in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out, Ramirez stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and the potential to win the game.

“In my mind I was thinking I’m going to be able to go in the locker room and say, ‘I got to give you guys a lot of credit. As poorly as we played, we still found a way to win,’” Coach Mike Fox said.

“I thought we were going to win the game.”

Ramirez hit the ball to center field, and the Tar Heels looked poised to tie it. But Tietjen made a diving catch and fired the ball to second base for the game-clinching double play to lift the Bulldogs to a 3-2 victory over UNC.

“I thought I got in the gap, trying to score,” sophomore Brian Miller said. “I just made the wrong read too quick, and it cost us.”

The mistaken read cost the Tar Heels the opportunity to tie the game.

After seeing Ramirez strike the ball, Miller sprinted for third base and stayed there — but the UNC-Asheville center fielder threw him out at second to give the Bulldogs their first-ever victory against the Tar Heels in eight games.

“Base running 101. We’re just trying to tie the game there,” Fox said. “We’re just trying to tie it, not trying to win it. We’re trying to tie it. Our kids know that.

“The disappointing thing is we work on that every single day, and it wasn’t a freshman.”

Disappointment seemed to be the theme of Wednesday’s game. Poor play and lack of offensive production plagued the Tar Heels from the start, as they failed to score a run through the first five innings.

“No matter what happened out there in the ninth, we played about as poorly as we could play, and I’m not sure why,” Fox said.

UNC’s best offensive weapon was the Bulldogs’ pitchers, who combined to walk the Tar Heels six times. But the Bulldogs’ six pitchers limited North Carolina to just two runs on six hits.

It was not until the sixth inning that the Tar Heels were able to get on the board. Logan Warmoth drove in the first run of the night, followed by a Brandon Riley RBI double to pull UNC within one.

But North Carolina was never able to get it done.

And in the end, this game will be remembered for an error in judgment on the last play.

“It’s an easy read. We practice it every single day,” Fox said. “Every day. Just turn around and stay there.”

sports@dailytarheel.com